Butterfly-type squeeze sponge mop



Nov. 4, 1958 F, ZO TQLA 2,858,557

BUTTERFLY-TYPE SQUEEZE SPONGE MOP Filed March 1, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR. FPA/Vk' Z ofi'our Nov. 4, 1958 F. ZOTTOLA BUTTERFLY-TYPE SQUEEZE SPONGE MOP 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 1,- 1954 IN VEN TOR. FRA me Z arrow A7 TOP/YE Y Unite States Frank Zottola, Port Chester, N. Y., assignor to Empire Brushes, Inc., Port Chester, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application March 1, 1954, Serial No. 413,295

6 Claims. (Cl. 15119) This invention relates to mops. It is particularly directed to a mop of the butterfly type provided with foldmg wings adapted to squeeze out water from a sponge pad when the wings are folded.

An object of this invention is to provide a mop of the character described so constructed that the folding of the wings is accomplished without any rubbing parts which may wear out, the mechanism for folding the Wings in accordance with the present invention comprising links and hinge parts which eliminate the danger of wear which comes from the use of rubbing parts embodied in previous butterfly mop constructions.

Another object of. this invention is to provide a mop of the character described comprising a head, wings hinged to the head and carrying a sponge mop element on their underside, an elongated mop handle attached to the head'and inclined at an angle thereto, a member slidable on this handle, and means connecting the sliding member with the wings to cause the wings to fold or swing toward each other and squeeze out the sponge mop element, the construction of such means including a ball and socket connection thereby permitting the wings to fold about an axis parallel to the iioor, while the member slidable on the handle moves at an acute angle to the floor, and thereby eliminating use of parts which rub on the mop wings and which cause wear on the wings after some use.

Still anotherobject of this invention is to provide a mop of a character described which is so constructed that a relatively short movement of the member slidable on the handle will cause a strong folding action of the wings to amply squeeze out the water therefrom.

Yet a further object of this invention is to provide a strong, rugged and durable mop of the character described which shall be relatively inexpensive to manufacture, easy to manipulate and which shall yet be practical and efficient to a high degree in use.

Other objects of this invention will in part be obvious and in part hereinafter pointed out.

The invention, accordingly, consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements, and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter described, and of which the scope of invention will be indicated in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings in which is shown various illustrative embodiments of this invention:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a member embodying the invention and shows the mop in opened-out position for use;

Fig. 2 is a similar to Fig. 1, with the handle broken away but showing the mop in folded or squeezing position;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken on line 33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on line d4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 4;

atent t 2,858,557 Patented Nov. 4, i958 lQQ Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 9-9 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 10-10 of Fig. 9; and

Fig. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 11-41 of Fig. 2.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, 10 designates a mop embodying the invention. Same comprises ahead iii. The head comprises a head member 212 which may be made of metal. Said head member 12 is of curved transverse cross-section and is substantially in the form of a semi-cylinder having a longitudinal horizontal axis. Member 12 has parallel lower edges 13 and semi-circular end edges 14. Said member 12' is formed, adjacent each of its lower edges 13, with a pair of aligned spaced slots 15. Said member 12 is furthermore formed with a vertical through opening 16 located midway between the end edges 14- and midway between the lower edges 13.

The head further comprises a cover member 18 covering the head member 12, and same may be made of hard synthetic plastic material or any other suitable material. Cover member 18 comprises a central, substantially semi-cylindrical portion H which overlies the front end of head member 12 in spaced relation thereto. Extending upwardly and rearwardly from said portion 19, is portion 2% of U-shaped horizontal cross-section. Said portion 2% has side walls interconnected by a curved wall 22 slanting upwardly and rearwardly. Extending outwardly from the curved walls 19 and from the side walls 21 are downwardly inclined walls 23 from which extends flanges 24. Extending from the front end of curved walls 19, outwardly extending walls 23, and downwardly extending flanges 24, is the front wall 25. The cover member 18 is formed on each side thereof and adjacent each end thereof with a notch 26 extending upwardly from the lower edge of the cover and cutting away portions of flange 24 and walls 23 and 21. The purpose of these notches will be explained hereinafter. It will be noted that the curved wall 22 has an upper edge 27 and that side walls 21 have rear edges 28. Thus the cover it; is open at the bottom and at its rear end, and it has a notch at its rear upper end formed by the edge 27. Wall 19 is formed adjacent the wall 22 with a vertical through opening 2% aligned with and spaced above the opening 16 in head member 12. Extending through the openings 16 and 29 is the shank 30 of a bolt 31 having a head contacting the top of wall 19. A nut 32 is screwed to the lower threaded end of the bolt 31 and contacts the underside of curved head member 12.

Attached to the head is the mop handle 33. Said mop handle may be in the form of a hollow metal tube and the same is inclined upwardly and rearwardly. The lower end of the holder 33 is flattened so that the flattened portions contact one another as shown in Fig. 5'

3 flattened portions 34 are formed with a through opening 36 through which the bolt 31 passes. Thus the bolt 31 serves to fix the handle 33 to the head 11. It will be noted that the handle 33 passes through the rear open end of the cover member 18.

Hinged to the head member 12, and a pair of similar symmetrically disposed wing members 40. Each wing may be 'made of sheet metal and comprises a flat wall portion 41 formed on its inner side with a pair of downwardly and inwardly curved eyes or hinge sleeves 42 passing through the slots or openings in the head member 12 and surrounding the portions of said head member below said slots. Walls 41 as shown in Fig. 3 of drawing extend forwardly of the head member 12 and are formed with inward extensions 44 extending at the front of the head. Each wall 41 is formed with a downwardly extended longitudinal lip 41a at its front edge, and is also formed with a downwardly curved flange or lip 45 at its outer edge and with'a downwardly curved flange 46 at its rear edge. It will be noted that the cover member 18 partly overlies the wings 40.

Attached to the underside of each wing 40 is a block 50 of wood or any other suitable material. Each block of wood 50 is attached to its wing by a bolt 51 extending upwardly through a suitable counter-bored opening 52 in the block and through an aligned opening 53 in wall 41 of the wing. A nut 55, screwed to the upper threaded end of the shank of the bolt 51, serves to fasten the block to the wing. A mop element 56 extends beneath and is attached to the two blocks 50 and traverses the space between said blocks. The sponge mop element may be in the form of synthetic sponge material. Brush elements 54 may be attached to the front edges of the blocks 50 and project forwardly therefrom.

Means is provided to cause the wings 40 to fold or swing downwardly and toward each other about their hinges to squeeze the water out of the folded mop element or mop pad 56. At this end there is fixed to wall 41 of each wing 40 a post 57 which inclines generally upwardly, rearwardly and inwardly from the wing when the latter is in a horizontal position. Each post 57 may be made of sheet metal and comprises side walls 57a interconnected by Wall 5711. The side walls 57a have lips 57c passing through slots 58 in wall 41 and engaging the underside of said wall. Portions of the side wall 57a contact the top of wall 41. Also, wall 57b has at its lower end a horizontal lip or flange 57d contacting the top of wall 41. At their upper ends, walls 57a are formed with opposed concave ball sockets 59 for the purpose hereinafter appearing. It will be noted that the post 57 is of generally triangular shape, being wider at its base and narrower towards its upper end.

There is slidably mounted on the handle 33 a handoperated tube or sleeve 60. Sleeve 60 may be made of a single sheet of metal, or if desired, it may be made of any other suitable material. It comprises a tube surrounding the handle and slidable thereon. It may be formed with a longitudinal split at the rear side 61 thereof. The tube is also formed at the rear with a plurality of spaced rearward finger grip projections 62. These projections are so spaced apart that the fingers of a hand gripping the sleeve can be received between the projections so as to afford a better grip on the sleeve to facilitate movement of the sleeve up and down on the handle.

Adjacent its lower end the sleeve 60 is formed with a pair of spaced apertured ears 63 carrying a transverse rivet or pivot pin 64. This pin serves to aid in holding the split sleeve in closed position. Hinged to the rivet or pivot pin 64 is the upper end of a link 66. The link 66 is in the form of a metal rod formed with a transverse drilled-through opening 67 at its upper end received between the ears 63 and through which the rivet 64 passes. It will be noted that the rivet 64 has rivet heads at the outer ends thereof contacting the outer sides of the ears 63. The rod 66 is formed at its lower end with a through transverse drilled opening 69.

The handle 33 is formed as shown in Fig. 8 with a pair of diametrically opposed through openings 70, through which pass a horizontal pivot pin 71. The pin 71 is formed with heads 71a at its opposite ends. Hinged to the pivot pin 71 is a lever 72 which may be made of stamped sheet metal. The lever 72 comprises side walls 73 interconnected by a bottom wall 74. The rear end of the bottom wall 74 extends to the rear end of a side wall 73. Said bottom wall 74, however, has a front edge 74:: which terminates short of the front ends of side wall 73. Thus the front portions of the side walls 73 straddle the handle and said side walls are formed with apertures 75 adjacent their rear end into which the pivot pin 71 passes. The rivet heads 71a contact the outer sides of the front ends of the side walls 73 of the lever 72. Said side walls 73 are formed adjacent their rear ends with aligned through openings 76. Passing through said openings is a transverse pivot pin 77 having a head at its outer ends contacting the outer sides of said side wall. The shank of the rivet 77 passes through the through opening 69 at the lower end of the rod 66. The lower end of the rod is hence received between the side walls 73.

It will now be seen that the lever 72 is pivoted at its front end to the handle 33, at its rear end to the rod 66. When the mop is in mopping position as shown in Fig. 1, the lever 72 lies substantially against the rear side of the handle 33. However, when the sleeve 60 is gripped and slidably moved downwardly on the handle 33, link 66 will cause the lever 72 to swing downwardly or in a clockwise direction away from the handle 33 from the positions shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing to the position shown in Fig. 2 of the drawing.

The side walls 73 of the lever 72 are formed with a pair of horizontally-aligned through openings 80 located forwardly of the front edge 74a of bottom wall 74. It will be noted that these openings 80 are closer to the pivot pin 71 than they are to the pivot pin 77. Passing through the openings 80 is a horizontal rivet or pivot pin 81 having heads 82 contacting the outer side of the side walls 73. Interconnecting the pivot pin 81 with the post 57 are links 83. Said links 83 are formed adjacent the upper ends thereof with substantially contacting rod portions 87 formed with aligned through openings 38 through which the pivot pin 81 passes. Thus the portions 87 of the rods on links 83 pass upwardly between the side wall 73 of the lever 72 and forwardly of the bottom wall 74. Extending downwardly and outwardly from the portions 87 of links 83, are downwardly, outwardly and forwardly inclined rod portions 90 formed at their lower ends with reduced neck portions 91. On each neck 91 is a ball 92 received in the ball socket 59 of one of the posts 57.

It will now be understood that as the sleeve 60 is pushed down on the handle 33 and the lever 72 swings downwardly, the links 83 will cause the wings 40 to swing downwardly about their hinges toward each other so that the mop element or pad 56 is folded about its mid-portion and portions of the pad 56 are squeezed tightly against each other for squeezing out water therefrom. The ball and socket connection between the links 83 and the Wings 40 permit the wings to move about horizontal axes while the lower ends of the links 83 move downwardly and outwardly.

Means is provided to raise the wings from the position of Fig. 2 back to the horizontally-aligned position of Fig. 1. To this end the wall 41. of each wing 40 is formed with a lug out from the metal thereof and bent upwardly. These lugs are located in alignment with the notches 26 in the cover member 18. Interconnecting these lugs is a coil compression spring 101 which passes through thhe notches 26, over the head member 12, and beneath the handle 33. When the wings are swung downwardly to the positions shown in Figs. 2 and 6, the spring 101 is stretched and tensioned so that when pressure is relieved or the sleeve 60 pulled up, the tensioned spring 101 raises the wings.

It will thus be seen that there is provided a device in which the several objects of this invention are achieved and which is well adapted to meet the conditions of practical use.

As possible embodiments might be made of the above invention, and as various changes might be made in the embodiment above set forth, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings, is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described the invention in some detail, what is claimed is:

1. A mop comprising a head, a pair of wings hinged thereto and swingable downwardly from a horizontal position, a squeezeable sponge mop element attached to the under sides of said wings, whereby said sponge element is squeezed when the wings are swung downwardly toward each other, posts fixed to the wings and extending upwardly, rearwardly and inwardly toward each other when said wings are in horizontally-aligned position, a handle fixed at its lower end to said head and being inclined upwardly and rearwardly from said head, a sleeve slidable on said handle, a lever pivoted to the handle at a point between the head and the sleeve and extending upwardly from the pivotal point, a link interconnecting the lever with said sleeve whereby said lever is swung downwardly and away from the handle when said sleeve is slidably moved down on the handle toward said head, and a pair of links pivoted to said lever between the points where the lever is connected to said handle and to said link, said pair of links having downwardly and outwardly diverging portions connected to said posts whereby to swing said wings downwardly toward each other when said lever is swung downwardly.

2. The combination of claim 1, the connection with the downwardly and outwardly divergent portions of the pair of links to said posts being ball and socket connections.

3. A mop comprising a head member having sides and being slotted at the sides thereof, wings formed with sleeves passing through and pivoted to the slotted portions of said head, blocks detachably attached to the under sides of said wings, a squeezeable sponge mop element attached to the under sides of said blocks, a cover fitted over the head member, an elongated, tubular mop handle, the lower end of said tubular mop handle being flattened and extending at an angle to the remainder of said handle, and being received between said head member and said cover, a bolt passing through aligned openings in said head member cover and flattened portion of the mop handle, said handle extending upwardly and at an inclination to said head, and a coil tension spring interconnecting said wings and passing through notches in the cover and around said head member.

4. Combination of claim 3, said cover having at the rear thereof, a portion of curved cross-section inclined upwardly and rearwardly and contacting said handle, and said cover further having side walls extending from said portion of said curved cross-section, said cover being open at the rear thereof.

5. A mop comprising a head having sides, wings hinged to the side of the head, a squeezeable mop element at the under side of said wings, a handle attached to the head, a pair of posts attached to said wings and projecting upwardly, inwardly and rearwardly therefrom when said wings are in horizontally-aligned po ition, each post having a pair of opposed walls formed at its upper end with concave ball socket portions, a lever pivoted at its inner end to the handle, a sleeve slidable on the handle, a rod pivoted at its upper end to the sleeve and at its lower end to the said lever, an intermediate pivot pin on said lever and a pair of rods pivoted at their upper ends to the intermediate pivot pin, said rods having their upper ends in substantial side by side relation, said rods having portions diverging outwardly and downwardly from said side by side portions and said pair of rods being formed at their lower ends with balls received in said Socket sections of said posts.

6. A combination of claim 5, said sleeve having spaced finger grip extensions thereon.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 603,999 Ballam May 10, 1898 2,643,407 Vosbikian et al. June 30, 1953 2,646,587 Sjoblom July 28, 1953 2,685,098 Palma et al. Aug. 3, 1954 2,706,303 Ours Apr. 19, 1955 2,801,433 Palma et al. Aug. 6, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 617,197 Germany Aug. 14, 1935 466,474 Canada July 11, 1950 477,171 Canada Sept. 25, 1951 509,960 Belgium Mar. 31, 1952 

